Books published by publisher Front Street Imprint of Boyds Mills Press

Join the fun as two mice invent a game that turns an ordinary staircase into a magical place to play and learn. Each step reveals a new surprise--birds to watch, art to create, chimes to hear, books to read, airplanes to fly. At the top, see where they have been and see how they have grown.On the Stairs lyrically celebrates the simple pleasures of a child's imaginative world.

In a strange and sinister world, a boy must face his fears alone. Ben is hiding from the "woolvs." He has no family left, and he is running out of food and water. His only ally, Missus Radinski, doesn't believe the woolvs exist—until it is too late. Alone, Ben must go out into the streets and confront his fears. This Australia's Picture Book of the Year Honour Book and Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice charts new territory in a book that is both beautiful and challenging.

Have you ever slept outside on a hot summer night? Sailed a boat in stormy waters? Or nursed a baby bird back to health? Maybe you've done other strange things you weren't expecting to do, or familiar things that became surprising as you did them. In this beautifully illustrated book of poetry you'll discover exciting possibilities in the events of each day and night. Every page hold a world to be explored.

In these hilarious episodes of education gone awry, familiar characters like Motormouth Morgan and Richard the Bully learn about school and life as their routines are turned upside down and inside out. Magical events bring inanimate objects to life - lunchboxes, playground equipment, mealworms, and pencil sharpeners teach their own lessons...not at all by the book. Each of Douglas Evans' imaginative stories provides a new twist on the nature of schools, teachers, kids, and learning itself.

A novel written in verse, Soul Moon Soup tells the story of a young homeless girl, Phoebe Rose. Phoebe and her mother carry their suitcase through the city from soup kitchen to soup kitchen, trying to get by. Her mother warns Phoebe not to expect too much from life, but Phoebe is an artist who likes to draw wishes and dreams. One terrible day, Phoebe loses the suitcase and everything in it. Her mother puts her alone on a bus and sends her to the country to live with her grandmother for the summer. Phoebe misses city life and is hurt that her mother sent her away. Gram is gentle and welcoming, but Phoebe is slow to warm to her and makes plans to run away. Then Phoebe befriends a girl across the lake and begins to draw again. Phoebe slowly comes to terms with her separation from her mother, and just when she begins to enjoy being at Gram’s, her mother comes for her with the news that they now have a key to a room in the city — a place they can give things another start.

A proud, gifted young man learns to overcome abuse. Dane, a high-school senior and ski team standout, is in a rehabilitation clinic in Florida, a thousand miles from his home in upstate New York. Guillain-Barre syndrome has paralyzed him completely, and doctors don't know when—or if—he'll regain the use of his body. When Anya, a young, no-nonsense woman, enters Dane's room and introduces herself as his physical therapist, Dane promptly sends her away. He's confident that he'll overcome this freakish illness without her superior attitude. Dane finds his occupational therapist more agreeable, and the two make quick progress on Dane's upper extremities. His legs are another matter. Dane understands quickly that if he wants to ski—or walk—again, he'll need to work with Anya. She and Dane reluctantly agree to develop his body strength, but as his family's visit to check his progress gets nearer, tension mounts. Dane's disdain for his friends, his family, and even his girlfriend grows clear, and his father's intolerance for failure becomes a consuming preoccupation. When the day of the visit arrives, a lifetime of subtle abuse either will cause Dane's icy mind to crack, or the young man will learn to thaw. An intense pain, tingling and electric, suddenly needles into my right calf, making me flinch. My breathing tries to speed up on me, but I catch it, forcing it back into the right rhythm. I close my teeth onto the insides of my cheeks and focus. Never lose control. —FROM THE BOOK

Like most middle-school kids, Joe and Katie are obsessed with their favorite fantasy card game, DragonSteel: The Amulet of Komondor -- a cross between Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering. When they find a computer game version of DragonSteel at a mysterious shop in the local mall, they jump at the chance to play it. But it turns out to be more than your average video game. Joe and Katie become the actual cartoonish characters of the game, journeying through the world of Komondor on a quest to find the five pieces of the DragonSteel amulet, which they need to save Komondor and Earth from three evil emperors. Using their skill with video games and the help of a colorful cast of new friends -- including an English Golem with a penchant for grammar and a doll-collecting baby prophet -- they take an exciting trip through Komondor and even deal with real-world problems concerning anxious parents, romance, and the FBI.

Mothers and daughters. A more complex or profound relationship cannot be found. From morning to bedtime, My Mommy portrays in simple words and deeply resonant pictures the breadth and depth of a little girl's feelings for her mommy. Of My Daddy, Susan Paradis' highly acclaimed companion volume, the New York Time Book Review said, "There's a light touch at play here that somehow works with the rich colors and sense of magic to make the book's final pages mysteriously affecting and the inevitable hug genuinely heartwarming."

The bond between a boy and his father is profound. My Daddy explores it from the point of view of the child, depicting in simple words and deeply moving pictures the wealth of feelings evoked by everyday events like Daddy going to work, jogging, mowing the lawn, and telling a bedtime story. In a perfect union of words and pictures, My Daddy celebrates this complex and wonderful relationship.

Kenny is fourteen. His dad has just died, and to keep the family together, Kenny must find work. "Be careful going through the flatlands," his mother warns him. "Don't stop for anyone." But Kenny does stop, and what happens next will define the man he becomes. This collection of six stories set in Australia spans seventy years. Defining moments in each character's story exhibit the human will to press on even during vulnerable times. With supple, evocative prose and compelling characters, Wolf on the Fold examines those critical moments of collision between adolescence and the adult world. Judith Clarke captures the essence of people's lives, whatever their time in history or their social background.

Ian Daley lives with his father, mother, and older brother on a dairy farm in northern Vermont. Times are hard for small farmers and they only get harder when a winter ice storm brings down the power lines and stray voltage gets loose on the farm, randomly shocking humans and animals alike, putting the cows off their milking. Then, one day, Ian's Mom leaves. Ian doesn't know where she's gone or for how long. Ian's dad, always gruff and non-communicative, becomes morose, while his brother checks out. Ian's loneliness grows and grows as he struggles with his mother's abandonment, his own divided loyalties, and his evolving sense of self.Eugenie Doyle's compelling debut novel lovingly portrays life on a small farm, celebrating its inherent vales and revealing its stark beauty.